Washington Free Beacon » Argentinahttp://freebeacon.com
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 20:17:13 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2Argentines Remember 1992 Bombing of Israeli Embassyhttp://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentines-remember-1992-bombing-of-israeli-embassy/
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentines-remember-1992-bombing-of-israeli-embassy/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 13:20:05 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?p=402070Survivors and family members of those killed in the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina gathered on Tuesday in a memorial square where the building once stood, Israel Hayom reports.

On March 17, 1992, a truck bomb ripped through the Israeli embassy, killing 29 people and wounding hundreds.

Twenty-three years later the crime remains unresolved. […]

Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, believed to be linked to Iran and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, has claimed responsibility for the 1992 bombing.

In 1994, two years after the embassy bombing, a truck bomb exploded at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and wounding hundreds. Both attacks remain unresolved and have sparked outrage among Argentines who are denouncing the slow pace of justice.

]]>http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentines-remember-1992-bombing-of-israeli-embassy/feed/0CBS: Massive Protest in Argentina One Month After Nisman Murder, ‘Possible Terrorism Coverup’http://freebeacon.com/issues/cbs-massive-protest-in-argentina-one-month-after-nisman-murder-possible-terrorism-coverup/
http://freebeacon.com/issues/cbs-massive-protest-in-argentina-one-month-after-nisman-murder-possible-terrorism-coverup/#commentsThu, 19 Feb 2015 15:09:37 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?p=393457The Argentine government is under new pressure as massive protests erupt one month after the death of Alberto Nisman. Nisman was investigating the countries largest terrorist attack on a Jewish community center that killed hundreds.

As part of his investigation, Nisman had begun to suspect a possible government coverup of an Iranian agent. President Cristina Kirchner had first said that Nisman’s death was a suicide but has since changed her story to say it was a rogue agency. Nisman was shot in the head one day before issuing a warrant for Kirchner’s arrest.

Solidarity protests have appeared throughout the United States, most notably in New York City in front of the Argentine consulate. On Wednesday, Kirchner told the world to “butt out” of the investigation.

]]>http://freebeacon.com/issues/cbs-massive-protest-in-argentina-one-month-after-nisman-murder-possible-terrorism-coverup/feed/0Ellison’s Must Read of the Dayhttp://freebeacon.com/blog/ellisons-must-read-of-the-day-nisman-death/
http://freebeacon.com/blog/ellisons-must-read-of-the-day-nisman-death/#commentsTue, 27 Jan 2015 18:20:46 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?post_type=blog&p=384847My must read of the day, “Argentinian government moves to dissolve domestic intelligence agency,” in the Guardian:

Argentina’s president announced a major shakeup of her country’s intelligence network on Monday in her most combative step yet to address the fallout from the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

In her first televised address since the prosecutor’s body was found at his apartment on 18 January, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said she would support a bill to dissolve the existing structure—which employs more than 2,000 people—and replace it with a new federal intelligence agency.

Alberto Nisman had a 289-page report that he said showed the Iranian and Argentine government colluded in covering up Iran’s involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos, Aires, that left 85 people dead.

Nisman says he had this evidence, and less than a week later he’s killed hours before he was scheduled to present the report to the Argentine Congress.

First, investigators said the death was likely suicide and a third party wasn’t involved. They said the door to his apartment was locked from the inside and a single bullet, fired from a gun that was to lent to him by a friend, killed Nisman.

But then, there were questions as to whether or not the door was locked, and it turned out there were multiple ways a person could gain access to the apartment. Test for gunpowder on Nisman’s hand, which would presumably suggest he pulled the trigger, came back negative—but the investigator says that could be because the bullet was a low caliber.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner first agreed that it was a suicide, but then changed her opinion and said it was likely foul play. However, she thinks it’s a set up and someone in the intelligence agency carried it out in an effort to frame her.

Kirchner is now dismantling the intelligence agency, and the journalist who first reported Nisman’s death has fled the country.

It all sounds like a scene from The Untouchables, and it surprisingly has remained a back-page item.

This story is sensational, seemingly made for cable and primetime news, yet for the past week each time I turn my television on this is not the story I see.

It should be everywhere, because this is newsworthy. This is not just a crazy story out of Argentina that only matters to Argentinians and the community impacted by the 1994 attack—it matters for U.S. policy.

The U.S. government is trying to negotiate a deal over Iran’s nuclear program; Congress is debating whether to pass legislation that would increase sanctions if those talks fail—but only a few people think it’s worthwhile to discuss the suspicious death of a prosecutor who was planning to present potentially damaging evidence of the Iranian governments involvement in Argentina’s biggest terrorist attack?

It is absurd, almost farcical, behavior.

It would be irresponsible to accuse Iran, or anyone—an individual or a government—of murder without concrete evidence. No one should do that, but that doesn’t mean the issue should be ignored. This warrants a lot of questions, and it’s problematic that both the media and the U.S. government are largely acting as if it doesn’t.

The Iranian government has a history of carrying out sophisticated assassinations.

In 1991, Shapour Bakhtiar, a former Iranian Prime Minister and advocate for democracy, was strangled and stabbed in his Paris home. French investigators tied the plot to “government ministries in Tehran.”

Ultimately, Bakhtiar’s murder was one of many tied to the Iranian government. Most of them occurred over 20 years ago, but the Ayatollah—the man who actually controls the country—is the same guy from back then. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989.

There are two logical questions to ask immediately after a possible homicide, especially one that appears to be calculated:

1. Who would have a motive to do it?

2. Who would have the means to carry it out?

In the case of Nisman’s suspicious death, Iran is a potential answer for both.

We don’t know what happened to Nisman, but U.S. officials should have been the first to press Argentina and Iran about it. They are failing to do that, and the media is failing to adequately call them on it.

The disregard of Nisman’s death is negligent, in general, because we know the Iranian government’s past. It’s especially negligent to ignore when there are currently ongoing negotiations between the U.S. government and Tehran—and that should be an incredibly obvious statement.

]]>http://freebeacon.com/blog/ellisons-must-read-of-the-day-nisman-death/feed/0Argentinian Reporter Flees to Israel Following Prosecutor’s Murderhttp://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentinian-reporter-flees-to-israel-following-prosecutors-murder/
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentinian-reporter-flees-to-israel-following-prosecutors-murder/#commentsMon, 26 Jan 2015 17:41:04 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?p=384157The Argentinian reporter who first reported on the suspicious death of a prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina arrived in Israel over the weekend after leaving the country out of fear for his safety, according to reports.

The reporter, Damian Pachter, was the first to write about the death of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had been investigating Iran’s role in the deadly bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Nisman was found dead last week under suspicious circumstances, with many believing he was murdered either by Iran or the Argentinian government.

Pachter told media outlets that he fled his home country to Israel due to concerns over his safety.

Upon landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Pachter told Reuters that he had left Argentina in fear for his life.

“The Argentinean government persuade [sic] me because of my news report regarding the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who died in unresolved way last week, so I was the first who report on that and now I am kind of suffering the consequences of that,” said Pachter.

“They [the Argentine government] use their security forces to chase me and I just had to move fast and quick, as fast as I could in order to get into a plan and just leave the country right away.”

]]>http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentinian-reporter-flees-to-israel-following-prosecutors-murder/feed/0Argentine Prosecutor: Rouhani Involved in AMIA Bombing Decisionhttp://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentine-prosecutor-rouhani-involved-in-amia-bombing-decision/
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentine-prosecutor-rouhani-involved-in-amia-bombing-decision/#commentsMon, 26 Jan 2015 16:10:40 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?p=384061An Argentine prosecutor who died mysteriously last week told a reporter prior to his death that he had evidence tying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

The WashingtonFree Beacon first reported that Rouhani was part of the secretive Iranian government committee that approved the AMIA bombing, according to witness testimony included in a 500-page indictment written by the late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was appointed to investigate the attack.

The bombing, which killed 85 and injured hundreds, is believed to have been authorized by Iran and carried out by its terror proxy Hezbollah. Nisman’s indictment implicated numerous high-profile Iranian officials in the attack and prompted Interpol to issue “red notices” for their arrests.

Nisman, who was found shot in the head in his apartment just hours before he was scheduled to provide testimony against Argentine President Cristina Kirchner last Monday, had denied the Free Beacon story in 2013 and suggested that Rouhani played no role in the attack.

“There is no evidence, according to the AMIA case file, of the involvement of Hassan Rouhani in any terrorist attack,” Nisman told the Times of Israel in response to the article.

However, Nisman said privately he had evidence that Rouhani was involved in the decision to authorize the bombing, according to Miami Herald reporter Andres Oppenheimer.

Nisman told Oppenheimer that Rouhani was on the committee that green-lighted the attack. “Nobody is pointing out that Rouhani participated in the decision of the AMIA attack,” wrote Nisman in a July 2013 email.

“In several telephone conversations and email exchanges I had with Nisman over the past three years, the prosecutor told me that Rouhani was among the top Iranian officials who had ‘participated in the decision’ to bomb the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires,” Oppenheimer wrote after Nisman’s death.

Sources told the Free Beacon in 2013 that Nisman was under intense political pressure from the Argentine government due to his AMIA investigation. Argentina has worked to build relations with Iran under President Kirchner.

Earlier this month, Nisman accused Kirchner of impeding investigations into Iran’s role in the AMIA bombing in exchange for lucrative trade deals. Nisman was found dead from a gunshot to the head in his apartment hours before he was scheduled to present evidence of his allegations against Kirchner to Argentine lawmakers.

Kirchner initially said the death was a suicide. She now says she believes Nisman was killed by a “rogue” government agent.

]]>http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentine-prosecutor-rouhani-involved-in-amia-bombing-decision/feed/0Mystery Surrounding Argentine Prosecutor’s Suicide Deepenshttp://freebeacon.com/national-security/mystery-surrounding-argentine-prosecutors-suicide-deepens/
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/mystery-surrounding-argentine-prosecutors-suicide-deepens/#commentsWed, 21 Jan 2015 17:05:59 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?p=381850JERUSALEM—The mystery surrounding the alleged suicide of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman in Buenos Aires on Sunday, the eve of his scheduled airing of charges against the country’s president, deepened Wednesday when investigators revealed there were no traces of gunpowder on Nisman’s hand and no suicide note.

Nisman, who had been investigating the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, was found dead Sunday in his 13th-floor apartment with a single gunshot wound to his head. Alongside his body was a .22 caliber pistol. The door to the apartment was locked from the inside. Authorities said his death was an apparent suicide, a finding that was met with widespread skepticism.

Nisman had told acquaintances in recent weeks that his life was in danger, and a police detail was posted outside the luxury high-rise building in which he lived.

“I might get out of this dead,” he said as recently as Saturday.

Eighty-five people were killed in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center. The initial investigation pointed to strong Iranian logistical involvement with the actual attack carried out by Hezbollah operatives and directed by the organization’s military leader, Imad Mughniyeh. However, the investigation bogged down and Nisman was appointed by then President Néstor Kirchner, as special prosecutor.

Nisman filed a 300-page complaint last week, alleging that Kirchner’s widow and successor as president, Cristina, sought to whitewash the Iranian involvement in exchange for stronger trade relations with Iran, including cheap oil. Nisman also implicated Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman in the alleged arrangement. Nisman was to testify Monday morning behind closed doors before a committee of the Argentine congress. Friends described him as a positive personality, not given to suicidal thoughts. Among the papers found in his apartment was a note to his maid on what to do when she cleaned the house Monday.

When Nisman’s death was revealed, thousands of the city’s residents gathered outside the presidential palace, some holding signs reading “Cristina murderer.”

Some Jewish circles noted that Nisman, who was Jewish, died just a few hours after an Israeli air strike near the Golan Heights killed Iranian and Hezbollah figures, including Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, the mastermind behind the community center bombing.

Nisman, who is survived by two daughters, had expressed concern about his own possible assassination even before the helicopter attack that took the life of the younger Mughniyeh. It is not clear whether he was concerned about an attack from Argentinians involved in the mooted deal with Iran or Iranians.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The Argentine prosecutor who accused President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of orchestrating a cover-up in the investigation of Iran over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center has been found dead in his apartment, authorities said on Monday.

Alberto Nisman, who had been delving into the blast at the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, said last Wednesday Kirchner had opened a secret back channel to a group of Iranians suspected of planting the bomb.

He had said the scheme intended to clear the suspects so Argentina could start swapping grains for much-needed oil from Iran, which denies any connection with the bombing.

“Alberto Nisman was found dead on Sunday night in his flat on the 13th floor of the tower Le Parc, in the Buenos Aires district of Puerto Madero,” the Argentine Security Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Nisman’s security guards had alerted his mother on Sunday afternoon that he was not answering his front door or phone, and the Sunday papers were still on his doorstep.

Nisman’s mother found the door to his flat locked from the inside and had to get a locksmith to open it. She found her son’s body on the floor of the bathroom, blocking the entrance, and called the police.

“Next to Nisman’s body … a 22-calibre handgun was found, together with a bullet casing,” the ministry statement said.

Nisman, who local media said was 51, had been due to take part in a closed-door hearing in parliament on Monday to explain his accusations against Kirchner.

The Clarin daily reported that just a few days earlier, he had told the newspaper, “I could end up dead because of this.” Nisman, in a separate TV interview, had also been considering agreeing to have his security detail increased.

AUTOPSY PLANNED

“In the coming days we will determine the cause of death with an autopsy,” prosecutor Viviana Fein told journalists gathered at the scene in the early hours. “I ask for seriousness, I ask for prudence.” Lawmaker Patricia Bullrich told television channel TN that members of parliament would meet on Monday morning to discuss the situation.

The judge handling the case of the 1994 bombing criticized Nisman late last week for taking it upon himself to “initiate an investigation without judicial control” and said the evidence he put forth was flawed.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday mourning Nisman’s death and urging Argentine authorities to carry on his work.

Argentine courts have accused Iran of sponsoring the 1994 bombing, a charge the Islamic Republic denies. In 2007, Argentine authorities secured Interpol arrest warrants for five Iranians and a Lebanese over the bombing.

In 2013, Kirchner tried to form a “truth commission” with Iran to jointly investigate. She said at the time that the pact would reactivate the inquiry, but Israel and Jewish groups said the move threatened to derail criminal prosecution of the case.

The truth commission pact was struck down by an Argentine court and never ratified by Iran.

Nisman had said the commission was intended to help get the arrest warrants dropped against the Iranian suspects as a step toward normalizing bilateral relations and opening the door to obtaining Iranian oil needed to help close Argentina’s $7 billion per year energy deficit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal on Saturday with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to help build the third reactor of a nuclear power plant in the country, the New York Times reported. Russia also aims to build bases in Argentina for its satellite system and use Russian planes and helicopters in the part of Antarctica that is claimed by Argentina.

Putin traveled to the region over the weekend to attend the World Cup final in Brazil and officially begin preparations for the tournament’s 2018 edition in Russia. He is also expected to sign a nuclear agreement with Brazil ahead of a summit for the emerging market nations known as the BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Jose Cardenas, a former George W. Bush administration official and assistant administrator for Latin America at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said in an interview that Russia has enough energy resources in its own country without having to partner with countries in Latin America. The recent agreements are more about “self-congratulating and aggrandizement,” he said.

“On a geopolitical scale, the side obviously with the United States and its allies in NATO overwhelms whatever Putin can assemble on his side of the scale,” he said.

“It’s his attempt to pretend that Russia can project its operations into the Western Hemisphere—just like the United States can project its power into Central and Eastern Europe,” he added. “There’s a lot of sizzle and very little steak.”

However, Cardenas said authoritarian governments in Russia, China, and Iran view Latin America as a “political vacuum” in light of less U.S. engagement in the region.

The most recent example is in Central America, where the administration and lawmakers have reduced security assistance, he said. Tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors have now fled violence in their home countries to seek asylum in the United States.

“Latin America is not even in the top 10 of issues of perceived importance by this administration, and countries like Russia, China, and even Iran are certainly exploiting those opportunities,” he said.

The State Department declined to comment on this story.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.), a Cuban-American lawmaker and former chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also expressed concerns about Putin’s actions in a statement to the Free Beacon.

“During his trip, Putin met with the Castro brothers, the worst human rights violators in our hemisphere, and forgave some of Cuba’s debt, signed a nuclear agreement with Argentina, and reaffirmed economic cooperation with Nicaragua,” she said. “Russia continues to undermine our foreign policy objectives throughout the world and its presence in our own hemisphere can destabilize the region and is meant to thumb its nose at the United States.”

Putin’s foray into Latin America comes after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March. That action, widely condemned by international observers, helped the Kremlin secure control of vast oil and gas reserves in the Black Sea potentially worth trillions of dollars.

Argentina was one of the few nations to back Russia in the Crimea dispute. Kirchner criticized the international community for condemning the successful referendum in Crimea but not one last year in the Falkland Islands, where residents of the British-held territory lying off Argentina’s coast voted to remain British.

“Argentina often has its own opinion … but it is always one of its own, and is a sovereign one, which is utterly important and cannot be often seen in the modern world. And we highly appreciate that,” Putin said over the weekend.

Argentina also faces another debt crisis as investors sue the government for the full repayment of sovereign bonds that the country defaulted on in 2002.

Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, head of U.S. Southern Command, raised concerns about the increased presence of Russia in Latin America in congressional testimony earlier this year.

Kelly said he observed a “noticeable uptick” in Russian power projection last year, including a visit by a Russian Navy fleet to the region and the deployment of two Russian long-range strategic bombers to Venezuela and Nicaragua as part of a training exercise.

“It has been over three decades since we last saw this type of high-profile Russian military presence,” he said.

“While Russian counterdrug cooperation could potentially contribute to regional security, the sudden increase in its military outreach merits closer attention, as Russia’s motives are unclear,” he added.

Mamet admitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee four months ago that he had never been to Argentina, however he did raise millions for President Obama’s reelection campaign.

According to the Post:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to move Mamet’s nomination along Tuesday, almost four months after his confirmation hearing, but Rubio put a hold on it until the next business meeting. He’s only allowed to do this once.

Rubio has been an outspoken critic of the Argentine government for its authoritarian actions, which include jailing journalists and rampant corruption.

]]>http://freebeacon.com/issues/rubio-delays-obama-bundlers-confirmation-for-argentina-ambassador/feed/0Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to Skip AMIA Memorialhttp://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentine-president-cristina-kirchner-to-skip-amia-memorial/
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/argentine-president-cristina-kirchner-to-skip-amia-memorial/#commentsWed, 17 Jul 2013 13:00:27 +0000http://freebeacon.com/?p=140626Argentine President Cristina Kirchner will reportedly skip the 19th anniversary memorial of the AMIA bombing on Thursday, in what analysts see as the latest troubling sign of the Argentine government’s increasing coziness with Tehran.

The Iranian government is suspected of plotting the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 and is considered the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history.

Kirchner will be out of the country meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos during Thursday’s memorial ceremony, the Buenos Aires Heraldreports. This would be the second year in a row that Kirchner did not attend the memorial.

“Kirchner skipping the AMIA commemoration is like President [Barack] Obama ignoring the 9/11 anniversary,” said American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Michael Rubin. “That she’s skipping it for the second time shows it’s no accident or coincidence. Jews are traditionally the canary in the coal mine, and in this case, the warning signs about Argentina couldn’t be clearer.”

Argentine federal prosecutors say the 1994 bombing was plotted by Iran and carried out by its terror proxy Hezbollah. Multiple former and current Iranian officials were placed on the Interpol wanted list in connection to the bombing.

Argentina’s relations with Iran have warmed immensely under the Kirchner administration. The Argentine government signed a deal with Iran in January to create a “truth commission” that will investigate the AMIA bombing, which will be staffed by jurists chosen jointly by the two governments.

Sources say that Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who heads the AMIA investigation, rankled the Kirchner administration in May when he released a 500-page report detailing the Iranian terror network’s infiltration of South America.

The Iranian foreign ministry also objected to the report and said it would not take the allegations seriously because of Nisman’s “Zionist character,” according to the Buenos Aires Herald.

The Argentine government barred earlier this month Nisman from attending and testifying at a U.S. House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on the Iranian threat in South America. A bipartisan House delegation called on Secretary of State John Kerry to reconsider aid to Argentina after the incident.

“It’s disturbing, in and of itself, that Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has decided, for the second year in a row, not to attend the AMIA Jewish community center’s memorial of the 1994 bombing,” said Robert Zarate, policy director at the Foreign Policy Initiative. “But what would be even more worrisome is if her decision not to attend—as well as her government’s decision last week to prevent Alberto Nisman, general prosecutor in the AMIA bombing—are motivated by a desire to strengthen Argentine-Iranian relations.”

In an English-language translation of a 2006 indictment filed by Nisman, two of the prosecution’s witnesses said Iran’s current president-elect Hassan Rowhani was on the special affairs committee in 1994 that approved the AMIA bombing, the Washington Free Beacon first reported in June.

Nisman quickly pushed back on the story, which had been picked up by the Argentine media, telling the Times of Israel, “There is no evidence, according to the AMIA case file, of the involvement of Hassan Rowhani in any terrorist attack.”

Nisman did not elaborate on whether this contradicted testimony from his witnesses placing Rowhani on the committee at the time the attack was approved.

The Free Beacon requested an interview with Nisman last month and was told by his office to email the prosecutor a list of Spanish-translated questions. Nisman did not respond to the questions and did not respond to the Free Beacon’s attempts to follow up.